Gentleman detective genre dead?

Well, how many gentlemen are still around?

Well, adapt and update a little: if the classic 'gentleman detective' is essentially a hobbyist with an independent income, either make him a man with inherited money, or a man with the kind of job that doesn't take up much time: something financial, or something he invented/developed that pays royalties. He went to a good school, has all the toys, nice manners, etc.

What kind of a 'gentleman detective' are you looking for?

I'm not sure about books but there is Castle, Father Brown and Dr Blake currently on TV. In Australia there is also the Miss Fisher Mysteries that are rather fab and I have to buy the DVD of.

So no it's not dead. Most are set in the past but Castle is modern. Father Brown, a priest, and Dr Blake, a police surgeon/doctor, in a sleepy backwater could easily be updated.

Usher said:

I'm not sure about books but there is Castle, Father Brown and Dr Blake currently on TV. In Australia there is also the Miss Fisher Mysteries that are rather fab and I have to buy the DVD of.

So no it's not dead. Most are set in the past but Castle is modern. Father Brown, a priest, and Dr Blake, a police surgeon/doctor, in a sleepy backwater could easily be updated.

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Father Brown and Phryne Fisher both made their debut in book series. Father Brown -- G K Chesterton; Phryne Fisher -- Kerry Greenwood.

I would totally read a book with a gentleman in it. Especially if it had killings as well.

I don't think the concept is outdated or dead. But it could be a gentlewoman too. It'll just take the right character to pull it off. Quirky always sells. Poirot and Nero Wolfe were similar to Temperence Brennan in many ways, for example, or even TV's Monk for a male. So it's absolutely possible.

I think a lot of detective stories are the modern equivalent. That is independently wealthy and/or from the upper class or its equivalent and a detective.

There is no such thing as a dead genre, or a dead sub-genre. All such genres are only sleeping, waiting for a really good writer to wake them up.

Aholm83 said:

How 'feasible' is a story in this style, especially in the modern era?

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It's all in how you execute the story. If you write it well with engaging characters, an intriguing plot, and you keep it true then it's very feasible indeed.

In general, though, Detective stories are a hard sell these days. That could be because most of the ones being written today are are tired retreads of better books that came before.

Jackx said:

It's all in how you execute the story. If you write it well with engaging characters, an intriguing plot, and you keep it true then it's very feasible indeed.

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Yes.

Jackx said:

In general, though, Detective stories are a hard sell these days. That could be because most of the ones being written today are are tired retreads of better books that came before.

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Are they a hard sell? Crime is enormously popular. (As a genre that is.)

I would say to take the gentleman/woman and do something FRESH with him/her. Wrap the character in something you're passionate about. And BTW, M/T/S usually carries 40-50% of the NYT Best Sellers with very loyal readers who love to follow a series. What more could a writer ask for?

Helix said:

Father Brown and Phryne Fisher both made their debut in book series. Father Brown -- G K Chesterton; Phryne Fisher -- Kerry Greenwood.

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I know, but Father Brown as a book isn't recent

I realise I worded the sentence about Phryne badly. I'd placed her separately because of the books but not specified. Thank you for clarifying.

Well said!

Jamesaritchie said:

There is no such thing as a dead genre, or a dead sub-genre. All such genres are only sleeping, waiting for a really good writer to wake them up.

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My male detective protagonists are strong and brave, yet courteous and gallant toward women. That doesn't mean they're perfect, that's for sure. They, like all of us in the real world, have flaws, but I believe in being a gentleman in the real world, so I try to pass that trait on to them in my fictitious world.

Does that count as "gentleman detective" fiction?

As for my female detectives, I like to create strong and intelligent women who can handle themselves in a fight--think Gina Carano with a badge.

I specifically made my protagonist, Hugo Marston, somewhat old fashioned and "gentlemanly." Sure, he's a little updated, has his modern twists, but at heart he's very much a traditional gentleman. And I'm selling just fine.

You probably already saw this, but the Wikipedia entry on gentlemen detectives gives examples of modern day gentlemen detectives:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentleman_detective

I was actually surprised to see some of them on the list, such as Inspector Morse and Detective Inspector Lynley (both series that I loved to see on PBS).

Djuna